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Genus Junonia - Buckeyes

Butterfly at Pelican Island NWR (Image 2) - Junonia neildi - female Nymphalidae, Buckeye - Junonia coenia Common Buckeye - Junonia coenia Annette's First Specimen - Junonia coenia Common Buckeye - Hodges#4440 - Junonia coenia Common Buckeye Butterfly - Junonia coenia butterfly in Vargas Plateau Park on 2020 May 08 - Junonia grisea Buckeye Butterfly - Junonia grisea
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Subfamily Nymphalinae (Crescents, Checkerspots, Anglewings, etc.)
Tribe Junoniini
Genus Junonia (Buckeyes)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Author of genus is Hübner, 1819
Explanation of Names
Junonia is Latin for "of Juno"
Numbers
6 species found in North America north of Mexico are recognized in Cong et al. (2020) (1):
  • Junonia coenia Hübner, [1822]
  • Junonia grisea Austin & Emmel, 1998
  • Junonia neildi Brévignon, 2004
  • Junonia nigrosuffusa Barnes & McDunnough, 1916
  • Junonia stemosa Grishin, 2020
  • Junonia zonalis Felder & Felder, 1867
    2 species formerly listed are now regarded as extralimital north of Mexico (1):
  • Junonia evarete (Cramer, 1779) - with the elevation of subspecies nigrosuffusa and zonalis to full species, there are no subspecies of evarete found north of Mexico.
  • Junonia genoveva (Cramer, 1780) - with the elevation of subspecies neildi to full species, there are no subspecies of genoveva found north of Mexico.
  • Food
    For most species larval hosts are in the plant families Verbenaceae, Plantaginaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Lamiaceae, and other mostly related families. A few, such as Junonia genoveva are limited to one or a few species of plants, but most Junonia will accept numerous species within these related plant families.
    Remarks
    Classification of taxa in the genus Junonia occurring in North America was revised in Cong et al. (2020) (1). This revision is followed here at BugGuide. It is unclear how universally those findings have been accepted. The notes from prior to this publication are preserved below:
    Opler and Warren (2003 with later additions) is listed as the reference followed for the classification of Butterflies used here on BugGuide. In this publication the Mangrove Buckeye is Junonia genoveva, the Tropical Buckeye is Junonia evarete, and the Common Buckeye is Junonia coenia. This is following - Lamas, G. 2004: 'Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera'. Checklist: Part 4A Hesperoidea & Papilionoidea.
    This is also the classification followed in many recent treatments, including:
    etc.
    There has been a lot of confusion due to the switching back and forth of the usage of the names Junonia genoveva and Junonia evarete, and most of the photographs up to date on BugGuide were switched from current usage due to this confusion, and the resultant fact that many field guides have backwards or confused treatments as well. Hopefully the Lamas treatment will be the final word, and things won't keep switching back and forth!
    [comment 11-10-08, David J. Ferguson]
    Sex differences: "Buckeye males and females look similar, but females usually have a somewhat different pattern toward the outer margin of the hind wings, with light areas usually better developed. Also, there is a tendency for females to have larger eye spots on the wings than males. Males are much more likely to have white antennae." Comment by David J. Ferguson,
    Works Cited
    1.Speciation in North American Junonia from a genomic perspective
    Cong, Q., J. Zhang, J. Shen, X. Cao, C. Brévignon, N.V. Grishin. 2020. Systematic Entomology, 45(4): 1-35.